APPENDIX A

The Very Image

to Rene Magritte

An image of my grandmother

her head appearing upside down on a cloud

the cloud transfixed on the steeple

of a deserted railway-station

far away

an image of an aquaduct

with a dead crow hanging from the first arch

a modern-style chair from the second

a fir-tree lodged in the third

and the whole scene sprinkled with snow

an image of the piano tuner

with a basket of prawns on his shoulder

and a fire screen under his arm

his moustache made of clay-clotted twigs

and his cheeks daubed with wine

An image of an aeroplane

the propellor is rashes of bacon

the wings are of reinforced lard

the tail is made of paperclips

the pilot is a wasp

An image of the painter

with his left hand in a bucket

and his right hand stroking a cat

as he lies in bed

with a stone beneath his head

And all these images

and many others

are arranged like waxworks

in model birdcages

about six inches high

(David Gascoyne)